It has been world widely known that sewing silk is a huge and challenging task. People, such as beginners, think that sewing cotton is delicate but wait for the worst to come. The real challenge is handling and sewing silk.

When you wear silk, it gives such a luxurious and wealthy, yet simple and elegant look to your wardrobe. Everyone has a desire of filling their wardrobe with something that brings elegance to their lives, but wearing and sewing are two different tasks with two different dimensions. Working with silk has never been an easy task, even by experts.

The cloth silk is very complicated and tricky, but if you are planning on learning how to handle it well, then here are the ten best and essential tips for you to discover for sewing with silk.

Select the type of silk

While selection, you have to be very careful because most of the times, the cloth marked as silk is not silk, sadly. For this, you have to be very sure that what you are getting your hands on is genuine silk. For testing whether it is real silk or not, we are providing you with a few tricks.

Firstly, just rub the cloth in your hands and if you feel the warmth of it, then it definitely the genuine silk.

Secondly, the price speaks about it itself. The synthetic silk is way cheaper than the original silk. However, if you want to feel all luxurious, then you will have to pay for it!

One of the main characteristics of silk is its glow. This glow is very different from the rest, and just by the look of it, you can tell whether it is silk or not. Also, when changing the angles, you will feel that the color changes as well.

Moreover, there are other tactics which can be used for testing silk such as burning with fire or chemicals, but this cannot be done when you are buying, of course.

Give the silk a wash

Before using silk, make sure that you wash it with soft detergent. Mostly, these days you can find the washable silk (even in washing machines), so now you do not have to worry about anything at all.

There are chances that after the wash, the silk might lose a bit of its shine. For this case, you can even opt for dry cleaning. The washing is done so that one can get rid of the stains that occurred due to ironing after sewing it.

Try cutting it

We all know that silk is very slippery cloth; hence, it is difficult to cut. During this time, you have to be very cautious. At this time, you will want serrated shears, tissue papers and some old piece of cloth (something that is steady).

Moving forward, between the pieces you chose, but the silk in between them and take the serrated shears for cutting it. Since these shears have a real grasp, they help you reduce the silk quickly. Furthermore, you can even use fabric stabilizers but be careful since some of the stabilizers leave a mark behind.

Checking

Silk is very different from other cloth materials, which is why you have to be more careful with it. You will have to test it for checking a few times before you start to sew it.

Run the silk through the sewing machine first. This is one of the best ways of checking your material. After this comes to the thread, and then the rest of the things such as tension, needles etc. at this point, if something is not right, you can fix it so that your sewing does not get wrong. Even when you think of sewing with hands, please do check it!

Use test markers. Put a small mark on the silk and then wash it to check if it is washable then you can use that marker. Why do you have to do this? Because lot of times, tags to leave a mark and cannot be washed.

Pinning

When sewing, it is compulsory to pin the fabric up. Silk is not any different from other materials in this case. However, there lies a problem. On silk, the whole marks are easily visible.

Otherwise, you can use patterns as well. This way, your fabric does not move from its place and will not even leave any marks. We have seen people using both techniques simultaneously!

Positioning of the fabric

Before pressing the silk, be sure that the silk is turned upside down. Silk easily take stains from steams. These can be removed but it is better to choose the safe option.

Seams

While sewing seams, you should opt for a cotton thread because it has a firm grip. Places that are sensitive while sewing, such as the neckline, you need to stabilize your seams. You might be worrying that this will consume a lot of time, but we make sure that it takes only a few minutes.

Snipping

You might have noticed quite a few times, that when you cut the silk, you see some occasional stray threads. And while they hang on the edges, it just annoys you. So, you have to snip them off with the help of shears. They are helpful in cutting them off.

The needles you need

Although, when we think about sewing, needles are the first things that come to our minds, but we have to use the steps listed above before choosing the right needle for sewing the silk. For silk correctly, use sharp needles because just like pins, they leave a trace as well.

Patience

Stop. Take a deep breath. And remain calm. This is what we can advise you when you think of sewing with silk. Silk is very difficult to handle, as we mentioned before, so you need a lot of patience while working with it.